Ciara Diamond
by Paige1915
Summary: What if James had a younger sister named Ciara? What if Katie refused to show any kindness towards Ciara from the moment they met? What if that animosity Katie showed Ciara started to fade when they moved to LA? How would this change the show? AU
1. Of Broken Bones And Apologies

_Hello, everyone! How is everyone today?_

 _This is the first Big Time Rush story that I've posted, so please be nice._

 _This is a prompt from Movies And TV Shows AU. Hope you enjoy!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the TV show Big Time Rush or its characters in any way, shape, or form. The character Ciara Diamond was an idea given to me by Movies And TV Shows AU._**

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Ciara Lucinda Diamond was only nine years old and was just as pretty as her older brother James was handsome. She had beautiful brown hair that reached her waist and shined with a silky quality; she normally wore it in two long braids that trailed down her back. Ciara was naturally skinny and had yet to hit her growth spurt, so she was still pretty short. She had tan skin because she was an outdoors person and could rarely be found inside, especially on a nice day. Freckles were speckled across her nose and cheekbones; it appeared as though someone had taken a paint brush and dotted spots across her face. Unlike most people with freckles, Ciara's seemed like they had a design to them and weren't randomly placed. Ciara was cheerful and happy and had what was almost an impossible amount of energy.

While Ciara appeared excitable on the outside, she was actually a very lonely girl, but that fact may be contributed to the fact that Ciara, James, Logan, Carlos, and Kendall and his family had moved from Minnesota to LA after the boys were offered a record deal.

I know you're all probably wondering why Ciara came along. Logan and Carlos's families, along with James and Ciara's parents, staying in Minnesota, so why did Ciara come along? James and Ciara's parents were very busy business workers and knew Jennifer, James, and James's friends could give Ciara all the time in the world when they couldn't. They did what was best for Ciara by letting her go to LA with James, and although Ciara loved LA, despite only having been there for a few days, she was missing her friends back in Minnesota more and more with each hour.

Ciara would've played with the teenage boys, but that was just it: they were teenage boys, and she was a nine year old girl. What could they have played that both parties would enjoy doing? The pool was too crowded, and the boys would much rather be playing video games on the couch than playing tag at the park with Ciara.

Katie was really the only option. Being the same age as Ciara, they'd have more in common, but there was one problem with that solution: Katie didn't like Ciara.

I wouldn't go as far to say that Katie hated the girl. If Ciara were in danger, Katie would be there in a heartbeat. If someone was picking on Ciara, Katie would be by her side in a flash. If Ciara was seriously hurt, Katie would risk her own life to drive her to the hospital (I say risk her life because Katie can't drive). But Katie rarely displayed affection to Ciara. Maybe it was because Katie wasn't good with emotions. Maybe it was Katie's way of coping with whatever was going on in her life. Maybe Ciara was a painful reminder of the fact that Katie could never be that happy after all the pain Katie had gone through in her life. Ciara doesn't know for sure; I don't think even Katie knows for sure.

But either way, while Katie didn't hate Ciara, she certainly didn't like her.

"Katie, won't you please play with me?" Ciara begged.

"No," Katie refused. "Go ask the boys."

"They're playing video games," Ciara stated.

"So?" Katie demanded. "If you really don't want to ask them, go make a new friend."

"I already tried that. All the other nine year olds in this hotel are stuck up," Ciara sulked.

"Do I look like I care?" Katie asked.

"Katie, please!" Ciara pleaded.

"No," Katie stated, flatly.

Katie watched as tears welled up in Ciara's eyes just before they began to fall, trickling down her face and falling to the hard wood floor. Ciara was a silent crier; she didn't sob or wail or any of that. The tears fell, but no sound came from Ciara as they did.

Okay. Maybe Katie felt a little bad. Or maybe even more than a little. But Katie couldn't bring herself to play with Ciara. She just couldn't, and even Katie didn't know why. Trust me, if she could find the reason, she would figure out a way to overcome that reason. Despite what everyone believed, Katie didn't hate Ciara. A strong dislike, yes, but never hate, and as much as Katie wanted to show people that deep down, she did care, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. And like I said, even Katie didn't know why.

"Why don't you like me, Katie?" Ciara asked, sniffling, before going silent once again. Katie actually wished Ciara would wail and scream and sob and throw a temper tantrum. Somehow, the silent crying was worse because it tugged at Katie's heart and almost made Katie want to start crying herself because she felt bad for making Ciara cry. Maybe it was because when Ciara was silent, she appeared so pitiful, like a lost puppy, and Katie felt her mask of annoyance crumbling.

But Katie stood her ground.

"For the last time, Ciara, I have better things to do than play with an annoying, too-cheerful-for-her-own-good child," Katie muttered before storming off.

"You're the same age as me!" Ciara pointed out, but Katie had already vanished into her bedroom.

Ciara wiped her eyes until it didn't even appear like she'd been crying before she stepped into the living room.

"James?" she asked her brother as he jammed his thumb against the button on his video game controller.

"Yeah, Ciara?" he asked.

"Will you go outside and play with me?" she asked.

"Sure," James replied without missing a beat. Unlike most big brothers, James always put his little sister first and always made time for her. If Ciara wanted to move back home but didn't want to leave James, James would leave the boy band and return to Minnesota with her without even having to think about the decision.

James and Ciara headed outside, and when James asked Ciara what she wanted to do, she asked if he could teach her how to skateboard, which James replied with a yes.

"Okay. The trickiest part about skateboarding is balance… and steering, but we'll get to that later," James laughed.

Ciara nodded as she strapped on some shoulder pads, and James buckled the strap of the helmet under her chin.

"Now," James said as she balanced herself on the skateboard. "Kick off."

Ciara took a deep breath before taking one foot off the skateboard and pushing herself forward before returning her foot to its original position. Ciara wobbled a little before smiling as she began rolling at a slow pace down the sidewalk.

"This is awesome," she commented before kicking the ground a little harder to speed herself up. Ciara was doing great for her first time.

If only she'd seen the hill…

"Ciara!" James shouted in sudden panic as his sister screamed as she began rolling down a steep hill. James chased after his little sister, but he didn't make it in time. The skateboard's wheels hit the small wall separating the grass from the pavement, and she screamed as she was thrown over the bushes and onto the hard ground behind them. Pain rocketed up her arm, and she wailed, unable to contain the pained cries from escaping her mouth as she clutched her arm, and tears rolled freely down her face.

James appeared at her side and lightly touched her arm, flinching when she sobbed as another round of agony shot through her entire arm.

"Dang it," he muttered. "It's broken."

James called Jennifer, who was still upstairs, and she was there within minutes, appearing at his side and checking on Ciara's arm.

"We'll take her to the hospital," Jennifer assured James. "Carry her to the car."

James lifted his sister off of the ground, careful of her broken arm, and carried her to the car, whispering soothing words to his whimpering sister.

"Try to rest, okay?" he murmured as he placed her in the back seat and slid in beside her. "We'll be at the hospital soon."

Ciara obeyed her brother and slipped into the unconsciousness that had been begging to claim her since she'd first sustained the injury.

* * *

When Ciara awakened, she had an orange cast wrapped around her arm and was surrounded by Jennifer, her brother, and his friends. Katie was there, too, but she stood a little farther away.

"Hey, Ciara," Logan murmured. "How are you feeling?"

Ciara shrugged. "Arm hurts. A little nauseous, but other than that, I'm okay."

Jennifer nodded. "The doctor said you might feel a little sick and obviously some pain. People react differently to the pain of broken bones."

Ciara nodded. "When are we going home?"

"The doctor wants to keep you for another few hours just for observation," Kendall stated. "After that, you're free to go."

"The cast should come off in six to eight weeks," Carlos added.

Ciara laughed. "You know, maybe I should take a leaf out of your book, Carlos, and start wearing a helmet wherever I go."

Carlos shrugged with a chuckle. "Hey, I haven't had a concussion since I started wearing it."

"Yes. Before that, he had four," Logan muttered. "Within one year."

Katie felt bad because if she had swallowed her discontent with the situation and played with Ciara, they wouldn't have been skateboarding. They would've been playing freeze tag or hide and seek or hula hooping or something like that. If she'd just playing with Ciara instead of being so stubborn, Ciara wouldn't have gotten hurt.

Katie stepped forward and held up a Sharpie. "May I?" she asked.

Everyone was surprised. Ever since Katie and Ciara met, Katie had shown nothing but animosity towards Ciara. No matter what anyone said or did, Katie refused to be kind to James's little sister, and after a certain point, everyone had simply given up. Katie would never become friends with Ciara; she wouldn't even show an ounce of kindness towards her. Katie absolutely refused to be nice to Ciara Diamond, and after several years of trying and failing, why should they continue to try when it obviously wasn't working?

And here Katie was, being nice to the injured Diamond sibling instead of calling her clumsy or ignoring her entirely. It threw them for a loop.

Ciara smiled and nodded.

Katie signed her name on Ciara's cast, and Ciara looked at the signature before noticing something else Katie had written.

 _I'm sorry._

Ciara knew Katie was apologizing for not playing with her and blamed herself for Ciara's injury, which she had a reason to blame herself. If Katie had played with Ciara, Ciara wouldn't have tried to skateboard and wouldn't have broken her arm. But Ciara wasn't one to hold grudges.

"You're forgiven," Ciara told Katie with a small smile, which Katie returned.

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 _I love feedback (but keep it kind or constructive criticism because any flames will be ignored and reported if necessary), so please tell me what you thought in the form of a review or a PM!_

 _Thank you all_ _for reading, and I hope you all have a fantastic day! Goodbye, everyone!_

 _Word Count: 2, 000 Words_


	2. Of Tragic Losses and Sisters

_This chapter focuses on why Katie doesn't like Ciara._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing. The character Ciara Diamond was an idea given to me by StephanieandMichelle4life. I only own my OCs (who are only mentioned)- James and Ciara's dad, Kendall and Katie's dad, and Kathy- along with any back stories. Any back stories are from my imagination, not the show._**

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They received the news during dinner, and Ciara watched in amusement as Carlos and James engaged in a battle between their dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. Ciara soon joined in the fight, battling against Carlos alongside James while the helmet wearing teenager sputtered, saying two against one wasn't fair, which only resulted in Kendall reluctantly joining his side to make it even. Logan chuckled while Katie glared at Ciara and munched on her chicken nuggets, loudly, while Ciara tried and failed to ignore the glare.

Ever since Ciara's arm had been freed from her cast a few months ago, Katie had immediately returned to hating James's little sister with a passion, almost outright refusing to like her instead of just simply not liking her. The boys personally believed Katie's dislike of Ciara was pure stubbornness and not a personal vendetta against the younger girl, but none of them dared to mention their theory to Katie or even Ciara because if Ciara asked Katie about it, it would only result in Katie disliking her more. Any more hate from Katie was the last thing Ciara needed when she was already in pain after every glare or even an annoyed glance, and don't even get me started on all of the times Katie insulted her.

They knew Katie must care about Ciara to some extent after the broken bone incident a few months ago, but Katie refused to show even an ounce of care for James's sister after the cast was removed. When Ciara was unable to use one of her arms, Katie would carry her books, her backpack, and even stand outside the bathroom door for the first few days to make sure Ciara was okay while she took a shower with the cast on (which was a good thing since Ciara bumped her broken arm the first time she took a shower. She kneeled over in pain, and when she straightened up, she hit her head and was knocked out. Luckily, Katie had heard the loud thump and went in to help Ciara). The minute the cast was off, any love Katie had shown Ciara vanished, and Katie's hatred for her hurt Ciara more than before she broke her arm because before she broke her arm, she hadn't known what it was like to have Katie like her. She'd wanted Katie to like her, but you can't really miss what you've never had, and now that she knew that Katie was _capable_ of liking her… she wanted the other girl to care about her more than ever before.

Katie wouldn't even give her the time of day now.

Ciara was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice her dinosaur get defeated, nor did she notice Mrs. Knight leave the table to take a phone call.

However, she did notice when Mrs. Knight started crying.

The mother of two and surrogate mother of four (including Ciara) was standing by the counter and shakily hung up the phone while wiping the tears from her eyes. No one made a sound as Mrs. Knight returned to the table, knowing she would be baring bad and possibly even tragic news. No one wanted to move even a centimeter, afraid they would be the ones pulled away from the table.

Carlos, Logan, James, and Ciara thought about their families and friends back in Minnesota, and Kendall and Katie swallowed as thoughts of their few living relatives (particularly their grandparents) crossed their minds.

Finally, the suspense was broken as Mrs. Knight inhaled deeply and said a name. Or two names, more accurately.

"James, Ciara… can I speak with you?" Mrs. Knight asked.

Ciara stood up from the table on quaking legs, and as though seeing his sister on the verge of collapsing under the incredibly heavy burden of the anxiety weighing down on her, James reached over and grabbed her shoulder to steady her. Glued to each other's side, they followed Mrs. Knight down the hall.

Kendall, Carlos, Logan, and Katie waited for what felt like an eternity, wondering what news could be so awful that it would make Mrs. Knight, the strongest woman the four kids knew, begin to bawl.

After what felt like an infinite amount of time, a door at the end of the hall burst open, and Ciara sprinted past them, scrubbing tears from her eyes, and ran out the door, disappearing down the hall.

James soon followed, and he, too, had tears in his eyes, but he seemed determined not to cry in front of anyone, so he walked out the door and went in the opposite direction of Ciara to find a broom closet or some other private place to curl into a ball and break down without fear of people judging him.

"What happened?" Kendall demanded as his mother walked over to stand beside the table.

Mrs. Knight swallowed. "James and Ciara's father… has passed away. He was a fire fighter, as you know, and… the building collapsed on him while he was trying to rescue a young girl."

No one knew what to say after discovering that piece of news.

James had always be closer to his mother, but he was so much like his father, not just in appearance, but also in personality, that it was impossible to miss the fact that they were father and son. They had their moments, their arguments, their fights, but they were still close. And the guys could only imagine how guilty James must be feeling because right before they left for LA, James and his dad had this huge fight. They couldn't even remember what it was about, but James had spent the last few months trying to find the courage to call his dad and apologize, but he never did. And now… he would never get the chance to say he was sorry.

James had fought with his father, hadn't seen him in months, had taken him for granted… and now he'd lost him for good. Logan and Carlos's father's were still alive, so they couldn't even imagine what James was feeling. Kendall had lost their own father, but Katie was so young (she'd barely been a year old when he died of cancer), she didn't even remember him. Kendall had been eight, but all he remembered was his father coming home drunk a lot, doing drugs, getting laid off by every job he managed to scrounge up. Kendall rarely saw his dad until his dad got sick, probably caused by years of smoking and drinking and just not taking care of himself. After that, all he remembers are hospital rooms, a lot of needles, and his dad lying in that bed, whispering a meaningful goodbye every time Kendall, Katie, and their mom left, afraid it would be the last time he saw them.

Kendall loved his dad, but he didn't really know him. Everyone acted like he should be heartbroken seeing his father so weak and sick, but the man in that hospital bed was a stranger, and while Kendall felt bad for him, he didn't spend night after night crying like his mom did. He loved his dad and wished he could have known him better, but Kendall was left wondering… how can you miss someone that was never really there?

Therefore, Kendall had lost his father, but he could never compare to the grief James must be feeling as the man he looked up to left this earth and wouldn't come back.

Ciara was a different story. She was a Daddy's girl for as long as any of them could remember. She loved her father more than she loved herself; she loved her father so much, she would've died for him at only nine years old. She was so close to him, it was almost like they were the same person. To Ciara, losing her dad would be like Kendall losing his mom or the four friends becoming three or two or even one if there should ever be a tragedy. To Ciara, losing her dad would be like Katie losing her mom or her brother or even any of the guys. A truly earth shattering kind of heartbreak that would still be healing ten years from now.

Kendall stood up, but his mom grabbed his shoulder.

"Kendall, maybe you should give James and Ciara some time alone," Mrs. Knight suggested.

"Mrs. Knight, with all due respect, being alone is the last thing they need right now," Carlos told her, sounding uncharacteristically wise.

"Carlos and I will talk to James," Kendall said.

"I'll talk to Ciara," Logan offered, but as he stood up, a surprising person stopped him.

"You go with them to talk to James. I'll talk to Ciara," Katie told them before leaving the doorway in the direction Ciara had gone.

Kendall was a little concerned Katie would make it worse, but after looking into Katie's eyes, he knew she was sincere and that she would help Ciara in any way she could, even if it meant swallowing her pride and apologizing.

Mrs. Knight, Kendall, James, Logan, Carlos, and even Katie (although it was buried _way_ in the back of her mind), knew that Katie may dislike Ciara, but she would always be there for her at the end of the day.

Siblings (because Katie and Ciara are like sisters, even if Katie will never admit it and Ciara will never believe it) fight, but in the end, they're always right there when they need each other. And somehow, that's even more amazing than being close all the time. Growing apart and coming back together is much harder than being close and staying close or being distant and remaining distant, and that's what makes it so impressive. Ciara and Katie can be so distant, they might as well be living on two different continents, but they always come back together in the end. Because that's what siblings do, and everyone knew that if anyone so much as laid a hand on James's little sister, Katie would be there for her. Because Katie did love Ciara, whether she would admit it or not.

Katie wandered through the halls in search of James's little sister, but she came up empty. With hardly any options remaining, she decided to ask for help.

"Camille, Kristina! Have either of you seen Ciara?" Katie questioned.

Camille seemed pleasantly surprised that Katie was the one to come after Ciara as she paused in the middle of performing a scene, turning away from her friend/study partner.

"Yes. She ran that way," Camille said, pointing down the hallway to their left. "She looked upset, and I tried to go after her, but before I could even take a step, she was gone."

Katie nodded. "Ciara is not an athlete, but she can be a really fast runner when she wants to be," Katie summed up before strolling down the hallway in search of James's sister.

Katie searched for half an hour, and she was on the verge of going back to the apartment to see if Ciara had returned, but then she heard crying on the other side of the roof door.

Katie opened the door and stepped out onto the roof, following the sound of sniffles and quiet sobs around a small building in the center of the roof (it looked like a storage unit of some sort) to find Ciara leaning against the building with her knees drawn up to her chest.

Katie usually hated Ciara's cheerful, innocent attitude, and she thought she would be happy Ciara had gotten a glimpse of the harsh cruelty of the world, but she wasn't. She never wanted Ciara to be exposed to the hardships we all face on this earth in _this_ manner. She thought she would be ecstatic that Ciara would stop being so go lucky and innocent all the time and would actually start to grow up, but she wasn't. She would much rather have the cheerful, energetic, sometimes annoying little sister of James than to see the girl-who-could-not-frown, as Katie had nicknamed her a few years prior to mock her, _crying._

"Ciara?" Katie whispered.

Ciara didn't even glance up. "This is low, even for you, Katie. Going to bully and mock me and _hate_ me right after my dad died."

Katie shook her head. "That's not why I'm here."

Katie sat beside Ciara, and Ciara was genuinely shocked that Katie was sitting so close to her when Katie was usually repulsed by the idea of even being within three feet of Ciara.

"Then why are you here?" Ciara asked.

Katie smiled, softly. "You need a friend right now. Logan was going to come talk to you, but I thought it would be better if I were here."

Ciara snorted. "Why? You hate me."

Katie shook her head. "I don't hate you, Ciara. I don't particularly like you most of the time, but I don't hate you. I could _never_ hate you."

"Why don't you like me?" Ciara asked.

Katie looked away, not wanting to glance into Ciara's teary eyes, filled with desperation as she waited for an answer.

"I guess it's because…" Katie began, "you're sweet and innocent and happy and cheerful all the time, as though nothing bad has ever happened to you and you believe that nothing will ever happen to you. And then there's me. Losing my dad when I was a baby. And… there's another thing.

"Kendall, Mom, and I have never told you or the other boys, but… I used to have a sister. A twin sister."

Ciara's eyes widened. "Really?"

Katie nodded. "Kendall refuses to even mention her because it hurts too much for him to remember his little sister and he knows it upsets me to think about her. We were best friends and polar opposites at the same time. She was exactly like you. Right down to the smile. Her name was Kathleen. I was the only one that called her Kathy, and she was the only one that called Kate. It was our thing."

Ciara watched as tears trickled down Katie's face, and for the first time, she realized that she had never seen Katie cry. Ever. In all the time Ciara had known her.

"When we were two, Kathy got really sick. It was an immune system disorder. You probably know it as Baby Bubble Syndrome or something like that, where the patients practically have to live in a bubble to survive. She was sent to live with our Aunt Linda because she was a nurse and could take care of Kathy. We never told the other boys or you or _anyone_ about her because we were almost afraid that even saying her name would jinx her somehow.

"She died when we were seven. I suppose we were lucky. Hardly any kids with this disease make it past two years old, and she survived for seven years, but I certainly didn't feel lucky at the time. And then I met you, and I realized how much you were like Kathy.

"That's one of the reasons I didn't like you. You remind me so much of her, and for the longest time, I refused to believe that the reason I hated you was because of how much you were like her. I hated you so much that I thought comparing you to Kathy was an _insult_ to my sister's memory.

"But then… when you broke your bone, and I was with you in the hospital, I was reminded of all the times I visited my sister in the hospital, and I realized that if I lost you, it would be like losing my sister all over again. Ciara, I don't avoid you and treat you horribly because I hate you. It's because I'm _afraid_ of loving you. I thought if I don't get attached, losing you wouldn't be as hard. But when I saw you in the hospital, I realized I was wrong, and realizing that I cared about you so much scared me even more."

Ciara inhaled, deeply. "Katie… you don't have to be afraid of caring about me because I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure that I never leave you. You need me, and I need you, and I will not leave you. Not even death can pull me away from you. You are my sister, Katie, and even though you've bullied me for years, I forgave you for every insult before you even gave me that explanation. Because that's what sisters do."

Ciara and Katie stared at each other before they both broke down, holding each other and grieving together. Ciara had lost a father; Katie had lost a sister. But at least they still had each other.

And no one could take that away from them because they refused to let go of the other; Katie and Ciara both refused to leave the other when they needed them the most. No one could change that because even if they fight, they would always love each other and would stand by each other until the end of time.

That's just what sisters do.

* * *

 _Goodbye!_


End file.
